Steely Dan - Gaucho - Super Hot Stamper

Steely Dan - Gaucho - Super Hot StamperEvery instrument taking part in this complex, richly imagined sonic tapestry sits perfectly in its own place, and, more importantly for us audiophiles, its own space. The average pressing we auditioned was somewhat opaque and compressed, throwing a veil over the vocals and setting them further back on the stage. Not this copy the transparency and dynamics are superb, highlighting Donald Fagen's moody, emotive singing while his ensemble of hand picked

with space for every player

and playing the best pressings against a pile of other copies under rigorously controlled conditions is the only way to find pressings that sound as good as these three do

This is the kind of record that will make you want to take all your heavy vinyl classical pressings and put them up for sale

While the sound is not demo quality on every track

There is a fellow named Pete Hutchison

critical to hearing into the three-dimensional studio space

and money into your system then there is no substitute for the real thing

which is a not a sound we tend to like

if our experience is any guide

There’s excellent energy and good presence throughout

This orchestral spectacular should have a place of honor in any audiophile's classical collection

it will quickly become obvious how well any given pressing reproduces those passages